Marine Log - September 2008 - (Page 29)

COMMUNICATIONS KEEPING SHIPS AT SEA I-4 satelite F1 I-4 satelite F2 CONNECTED I-4 satelite F3 (launch date to be finalized) A map of Inmarsat’s Fleet Broadband coverage ouisiana-based Harvey Gulf International Marine Inc. has been providing offshore towing vessel services to the oil patch for decades. The family-owned and -operated marine transport company currently has one of the largest oceangoing towing vessel fleets in the Gulf of Mexico. It operates a fleet of towing vessel with a power range from 9,000 to 16,500 hp. With its fleet of towing vessels, Harvey Gulf International Marine provides offshore rig moving services of jack-up and semisubmersible drilling rigs for L every major drilling contractor and oil company, as well as rendering tug and barge transportation services for cargo movements, platform rig installations and ocean towing services. As the company has grown, so, too, has its communications needs. Daily logs, status reports, fleet locations and the ability to communicate at any given moment are a part of everyday business. These communication need shave particularly become acute as oil and gas development has moved further and further offshore. Harvey Gulf needed a high-speed solution. The answer was Inmarsat’s Fleetbroadband. HIGH SPEED, LOW COST BANDWIDTH Since the introduction of satellite communication, sailors have been able to make voice calls while maintaining high-speed data connections. When Inmarsat launched FleetBroadband at the end of 2007, the service promised to revolutionize the world of satellite communications for the marine industry offering smaller, lighter, faster and cheaper high-speed data in addition to the added incentive of low cost bandwidth. Inmarsat offers two types of termi- nals with differing capabilities and performance speeds. The FleetBroadband (FB) 250 offers a standard IP up to 284 kbps and streaming IP up to 128 kbps while the FB500 is twice the size and faster than the 250. The FB500 has a diameter measuring 50 cm and offers standard IP up to 432 kbps and streaming IP up to 256 kbps. Both data rates support text messaging (SMS), voice calls and fax. HARVEY GULF TEAMS WITH SKYMIRA Communication solution provider, Skymira LLC, Milford, Conn., a company that combines satellite and cellular technologies with communication platforms, encouraged Harvey Gulf to move towards compiling its daily logs, status reports and supply orders in digital format, which could later be safely transmitted to Harvey Gulf’s website. Harvey Gulf considers itself one of the early adopters of FleetBroadband technology. “We had the edge on our competition,” said Capt. Jake Stahl, vice president at Harvey Gulf International. “We were able to exploit cost efficient and effective communication capabilities for applications such as weather updates, navigational chart SEPTEMBER 2008 MARINE LOG 29 Inmarsat's FleetBroadband delivers high speed data and voice to ships using terminals like these, manufactured by Thrane and Thrane www.marinelog.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - September 2008

Marine Log - September 2008 Editorial Second Thoughts Update Contents Inside Washington Slick Cleanup The Women of WISTA Keeping Ships at Sea Connected Shipbuilding Shakeup Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Letters Marine Salvage

Marine Log - September 2008

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